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Huppenthal: Must stop anti-Common Core “barbarians at the gate”
Superintendent of Public Instruction John Huppenthal today compared Common Core opponents to “barbarians at the gate’’ and vowed to fight them to preserve the educational standards.
Educators hope to find $5M needed for student achievement test
State education leaders will scrounge to find $5 million to make up the difference between the estimated cost of a new achievement test and the dollars the Legislature appropriated for it.
Budget amendment may portend agreement on state spending
Senate Republican leaders have agreed to give Gov. Jan Brewer much of what she wants in a spending plan to avoid a gridlock on the new budget.
Anti-Common Core bills defeated in state Senate
Five Senate Republicans again helped Democrats kill two bills that would have undermined Common Core.
Tired of the sideshows
One longtime lobbyist for the business community today (March 13) echoed the sentiment that business leaders are growing frustrated with the fringe element of both parties, and they need to aggressively engage in helping to elect state policymakers who will avoid “sideshows” like S1062 and, more pressingly, the efforts to undo Common Core.
Anti-Common-Core bills clear hurdle, but face likely defeat in Senate
Republicans who helped kill a bill that would have dumped Common Core last week gave preliminary approval Wednesday to two measures that are hostile to the learning standards.
New standards and high-quality assessment are essential for Arizona students
When the Common Core State Standards were being drafted, many Arizona teachers provided input and feedback which were incorporated into the actual standards that were adopted by 45 states. I know because I was one of them, working alongside other Arizona educators, ultimately helping our state to leave a footprint on the standards themselves.
For many reasons, it’s time to get rid of Common Core
Arizonans must reclaim sovereignty over our children’s education. SB1310, which would prohibit the implementation of the Common Core standards and test in Arizona, is a good start. Governor Brewer willingly handed over control of our state’s education to the Common Core group for 30 pieces of silver offered by the Obama Administration in exchange for changing our state’s education policies [...]
School freeze – Educators push for delay in test repercussions
Arizona public schools would get a one-year freeze on consequences from a new high-stakes learning test under legislation the state Department of Education plans to offer during the next session.
Common Core Readiness: Washington Elementary School District
Although the Washington Elementary School District began introducing the Common Core teaching standards ahead of the state’s suggested schedule, full implementation at all grade levels has proved to be a bit of a moving target.
Common Core Readiness: Topock Elementary School District
The 141-student, rural, isolated Topock Elementary School District has been preparing for and implementing new and potentially expensive teaching methods and a computer-based assessment. The keys have been collaboration paired with some timely technology grants.
Common Core Readiness: Mesa Unified School District
The state’s largest school district has been preparing to teach the Common Core standards in much the same way that smaller districts have – with several consecutive years of teacher training, millions of dollars in technology upgrades and parent education. However, despite a successful 2012 bond election, money is still tight.
